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For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our
household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! |
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"Trevor Appleton" wrote in message . com... For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! |
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"Trevor Appleton" wrote
For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I'm not sure. I have noticed that if we go out I don't bother to record the programme or watch it on iPlayer whereas with Geoff it was compulsive viewing. I do think Monty is a good presenter though. My beef with Monty is that he is strictly organic and won't even mention chemicals, makes his own compost which few can and decries peat based compost which we all know is the best for plants, and has a field for a garden. All that must make it very difficult for most "new" potential gardeners watching who have, maybe, 30ft by 20ft as a garden and no room for a compost bin. -- Regards. Bob Hobden. Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK |
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On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. |
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On 01/09/2013 10:32, stuart noble wrote:
On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote: On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. And a british suburban garden would do nothing for Zen Buddhists |
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On 2013-09-01 10:32:54 +0100, stuart noble said:
On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote: On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. Ray always maintains that Japanese gardens made by Westerners don't work properly and he may have something. We saw a beauty at Huntington Gardens in California but it was designed by a Japanese and I'm pretty sure it was maintained by one, too. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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In article ,
Sacha wrote: On 2013-09-01 10:32:54 +0100, stuart noble said: On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote: On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. Ray always maintains that Japanese gardens made by Westerners don't work properly and he may have something. We saw a beauty at Huntington Gardens in California but it was designed by a Japanese and I'm pretty sure it was maintained by one, too. On the other hand, when I first saw the gardens in Japan, I realised where the 19th revolution typified by the Cornish gardens of that era came from. The Cornish always having been a maritime people, of course! I am pretty sure that I saw the original of the pond at Burncoose somewhere in Tokyo, though I now forget at which of the gardens. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
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On 2013-09-01 12:25:20 +0100, Nick Maclaren said:
In article , Sacha wrote: On 2013-09-01 10:32:54 +0100, stuart noble said: On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote: On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. Ray always maintains that Japanese gardens made by Westerners don't work properly and he may have something. We saw a beauty at Huntington Gardens in California but it was designed by a Japanese and I'm pretty sure it was maintained by one, too. On the other hand, when I first saw the gardens in Japan, I realised where the 19th revolution typified by the Cornish gardens of that era came from. The Cornish always having been a maritime people, of course! I am pretty sure that I saw the original of the pond at Burncoose somewhere in Tokyo, though I now forget at which of the gardens. Regards, Nick Maclaren. It's so long since we've been to Burncoose that I don't even remember a pond! Charlie might know more. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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On 2013-09-01 10:34:19 +0000, Jake said:
On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I really tried to like Monty, at least his incarnation 2. But if I want to be preached at, I'll go to church! I no longer watch the program. I used to record it just to watch Carol Klein's bit but now find, without the interesting "wrap" either side of her segment, her exuberance is a bit too much to handle. But those who are "on" Twitter, might care to follow the hashtag #shoutyhalfhour while the programme's on air. The discussion is often illuminating and entertaining, especially if Monty digs a hole! Thank God for Beechgrove! Is that what the "shouty half hour" is all about! I did wonder but have never explored further. I'll take a look! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
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On 01/09/2013 12:11, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-09-01 10:32:54 +0100, stuart noble said: On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote: On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. Ray always maintains that Japanese gardens made by Westerners don't work properly and he may have something. We saw a beauty at Huntington Gardens in California but it was designed by a Japanese and I'm pretty sure it was maintained by one, too. I quite like the one in Holland Park (West London) but, again, it needs more tending than anyone can afford to give it. In a way I suppose it sums up the Brits just as zen reflects the unbelievable orderliness of the Japanese. |
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On 31/08/2013 20:59, Trevor Appleton wrote:
For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I also find that I am increasingly enjoying Monty's garden and gardening *but* not as Gardeners' World. It's Monty's garden. We are all a bit nosey about what happens in someone else's garden, and Long Meadow fronted by Monty is great at showing that. Nigel's pretty good, too! He has his own following, I believe. However, I would like someone to come along and do what St. Geoff did, which was decorative and productive gardening on a more suburban scale and, indeed, on a budget - at least some of the time. I know Monty's garden is divided into smaller gardens, which helps a bit, but they're not 'gardening from scratch' *and* they're possibly a bit grandiose for many people. We certainly need a prime time gardening programme (not 'show') to give us a mix of gardening types, some small construction projects, and lots of information about plants *with their names* so that we can learn and be inspired. I confess I loved Toby Buckland's handling of GW and wish the BBC had left him at the helm to work in his own way. Alas, it was not to be. -- Spider from high ground in SE London gardening on clay |
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On 2013-09-01 14:33:43 +0100, stuart noble said:
On 01/09/2013 12:11, Sacha wrote: On 2013-09-01 10:32:54 +0100, stuart noble said: On 01/09/2013 08:47, Martin wrote: On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:59:32 +0100, "Trevor Appleton" wrote: For the last 17 years since Geoff Hamilton sadly departed this world, our household expression for watching GW at 8.30 on a Friday has been putting 'Geoff' on. No one could replace him and certainly not Titch or Toby, or even Montys first charge of the helm. However I can finally now say that I feel we have someone I like equally as much as Geoff - good old Monty!! I wish we could say the same. Do you watch Beechgrove? http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/ Having just watched his prog on Japanese gardens, Monty comes across as a bit of a fruitcake. Zen doesn't work here because there's no one to spend all day maintaining perfection. Anyway, a rock in the middle of a load of gravel doesn't do it for me. Ray always maintains that Japanese gardens made by Westerners don't work properly and he may have something. We saw a beauty at Huntington Gardens in California but it was designed by a Japanese and I'm pretty sure it was maintained by one, too. I quite like the one in Holland Park (West London) but, again, it needs more tending than anyone can afford to give it. In a way I suppose it sums up the Brits just as zen reflects the unbelievable orderliness of the Japanese. The process of the tending is part of the Zen experience and I think you're probably right that raking gravel and placing boulders 'just so', doesn't go along with our outlook generally. ;-) -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:06:06 +0100, Spider wrote:
I confess I loved Toby Buckland's handling of GW and wish the BBC had left him at the helm to work in his own way. I agree, but he did get a lot of stick from this newsgroup, I still watch GW, love Beechcroft, and this summer finally got to visit 'Barnsdale' a great day out, (except for the Garden Center that is on site, which was poor) |
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Janet wrote:
You may have forgotten, or never knew, that Geoff Hamilton's TV garden at Barnsdale was 5 acres. He acquired and developed it for the purpose of GW.The (many) apparent "small suburban plot" areas shown on GW, were created for the purposes of TV broadcast. An interesting place to visit. I was surprised how really small some of those plots are. I never quite saw the point of a lawn whose diameter was about the same as my outstretched arms. Chris -- Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK Plant amazing Acers. |
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On 02/09/2013 07:43, Derek wrote:
On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:06:06 +0100, Spider wrote: I confess I loved Toby Buckland's handling of GW and wish the BBC had left him at the helm to work in his own way. I agree, but he did get a lot of stick from this newsgroup, I still watch GW, love Beechcroft, and this summer finally got to visit 'Barnsdale' a great day out, (except for the Garden Center that is on site, which was poor) It seems as if a lot of the moans about Monty come from the older members who have been watching GW for many years some from Percy Throwers days, that means that we have seen the same info delivered in many ways by a number of presenters, and we all have our favourite from the past. A lot of the info is there for the newer gardeners, and whilst he doesn't talk about using peat and chemicals I find his presentation good. As far as chemicals are concerned it's easy to recommend something, but "Our friends" in Europe are probably going to remove it in the next few months. |
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On 02/09/2013 07:43, Derek wrote:
On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:06:06 +0100, wrote: I confess I loved Toby Buckland's handling of GW and wish the BBC had left him at the helm to work in his own way. I agree, but he did get a lot of stick from this newsgroup, I still watch GW, love Beechcroft, and this summer finally got to visit 'Barnsdale' a great day out, (except for the Garden Center that is on site, which was poor) Oh, I'm very disappointed to hear about Barnsdale's garden centre. I would love to visit it some day and I'd rather hoped the gc would be brilliant. Perhaps it will improve following customer feedback. -- Spider from high ground in SE London gardening on clay |
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On 02/09/2013 09:38, David Hill wrote:
On 02/09/2013 07:43, Derek wrote: On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:06:06 +0100, Spider wrote: I confess I loved Toby Buckland's handling of GW and wish the BBC had left him at the helm to work in his own way. I agree, but he did get a lot of stick from this newsgroup, I still watch GW, love Beechcroft, and this summer finally got to visit 'Barnsdale' a great day out, (except for the Garden Center that is on site, which was poor) It seems as if a lot of the moans about Monty come from the older members who have been watching GW for many years some from Percy Throwers days, that means that we have seen the same info delivered in many ways by a number of presenters, and we all have our favourite from the past. A lot of the info is there for the newer gardeners, and whilst he doesn't talk about using peat and chemicals I find his presentation good. As far as chemicals are concerned it's easy to recommend something, but "Our friends" in Europe are probably going to remove it in the next few months. Thankfully, although Monty doesn't recommend chemicals, we've all got our own gardeners' world here in urg, where we can not only be given an appropriate chemical's name but, very often, information about how effective it is and tips about better application based on a real gardener's use of it and not the sales pitch on the packaging. -- Spider from high ground in SE London gardening on clay |
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A question to the Monty Don knockers. Does your TV have a button on it like the one on my TV? I use it to kill the programmes where they are either watching or talking about 22 men kicking a bag of wind about Mike "Jake" wrote in message ... On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 09:38:05 +0100, David Hill wrote: It seems as if a lot of the moans about Monty come from the older members who have been watching GW for many years some from Percy Throwers days, that means that we have seen the same info delivered in many ways by a number of presenters, and we all have our favourite from the past. But have we seen the same info? I don't remember the likes of Percy Thrower or Clay Jones taking off their shirts and ties (and jackets and waistcoats sometimes) and digging out ponds and streams. And let's not forget that Saint Geoff was promoting organic, chemical free gardening before it became the "in thing". He introduced me to coir and, as a result, I've not bought a bag of peat since, only the occasional peat-containing compost. And don't forget "hypa-tufa" as he called it - making your own limestone-like rockery stone instead of stripping that out from quarries. The point was that he did not preach at us, he talked almost with us. And Barnsdale developed with the programme (as others have said) and we got things from scratch, not a continuum of Geoff's own garden. To some extent, though nowhere near as much, Alan T developed his garden a bit but I'll agree he was no Geoff (as he said himself). I'll skip over Monty's first incarnation which, IIRC, was a ratings disaster for the programme (though glad stint ended I was sorry about the cause). Toby B's stint was a disaster not necessarily because of the presenters but because of the format adopted. He had no chance. But my personal jury is still out as to whether the baby was thrown out with the bath water. A lot of the info is there for the newer gardeners, and whilst he doesn't talk about using peat and chemicals I find his presentation good. The info is there if the newer gardener wants to plant only the plants he has, to have a "jewel garden" and has inherited a patch with lots of trees, miles of hedges and so on. Most newer gardeneners with small suburban gardens will never be able to plant hundreds of bulbs along a tree shaded garden path. It is also presumptuous to assume that gardeners will always have a potting shed and greenhouse. We must agree to differ on his presentational style which I compare with a bad priest's overlong Sunday sermon. And by refusing to even mention peat and chemicals, indeed by misinforming ("the only way to kill lily beetle....") he loses a great opportunity to educate newer gardeners about how, if they must use chemicals, to use them safely, about the pros and cons of peat use. So the newer gardener who has faced an invasion of lily beetle will notice a display of Provado on the shelf, see it kills lily beetle and will probably not bother to read the small print on the back and so spray at midday when the bees are flying rather than at dusk when the newer gardeners probably want to watch TV, not garden! For me, every presenter from Percy to Toby has, in some way, added to the programme, added to my knowledge and moved forward. Monty has taken away and moved backward. -- Cheers, Jake ======================================= URGling from the east end of Swansea Bay in between yanking up ever-appearing clumps of Himalayan balsam. |
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On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:15:21 +0100, Spider wrote:
Oh, I'm very disappointed to hear about Barnsdale's garden centre. I would love to visit it some day and I'd rather hoped the gc would be brilliant. Perhaps it will improve following customer feedback. I went with the intention of buying a plant (anything!) as a souvenir and came out without anything, and saw many others do the same. Barnsdale, was well worth the visit, a very full day, was one of the first in, and left as they were closing for the day. |
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On 02/09/2013 15:33, Martin wrote:
On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:15:12 +0100, Jake wrote: +1 Very -1 Trouble is, usenet is much more suited to knockers than praisers. It is notorious for it:) IYSWIM |
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On 03/09/2013 13:06, Jake wrote:
On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:38:51 +0100, News wrote: Very -1 Trouble is, usenet is much more suited to knockers than praisers. It is notorious for it:) IYSWIM As you totally disagree with me, I take it that you are, in fact, knocking every GW presenter in history except Monty, whom you are praising. And you will also be happy to see the decline of bees because newer gardeners shoot chemicals over everything when the bees are flying? Indeed, even older gardeners: I've heard "Oh, I never read instructions. If it's on sale it's ok, innit!" Quite where you leap to those ridiculous conclusions from, I really don't know. I disagree with your views of Monty. Full stop. That doesn't necessarily mean that I subscribe to everything he says, so don't try and draw any conclusions about the way I feel beyond that. Whilst the original remark was somewhat tongue in cheek and a repository for a pun, I believe that in general, people are more likely to express feelings of dislike on usenet than of like. In the same way that people in general will more often criticise a company when it cocks up than they will praise it when it does something right. YMMV. -- regards andy |
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"News" wrote in message ... On 03/09/2013 13:06, Jake wrote: On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:38:51 +0100, News wrote: Very -1 Trouble is, usenet is much more suited to knockers than praisers. It is notorious for it:) IYSWIM As you totally disagree with me, I take it that you are, in fact, knocking every GW presenter in history except Monty, whom you are praising. And you will also be happy to see the decline of bees because newer gardeners shoot chemicals over everything when the bees are flying? Indeed, even older gardeners: I've heard "Oh, I never read instructions. If it's on sale it's ok, innit!" Quite where you leap to those ridiculous conclusions from, I really don't know. I disagree with your views of Monty. Full stop. That doesn't necessarily mean that I subscribe to everything he says, so don't try and draw any conclusions about the way I feel beyond that. Whilst the original remark was somewhat tongue in cheek and a repository for a pun, I believe that in general, people are more likely to express feelings of dislike on usenet than of like. In the same way that people in general will more often criticise a company when it cocks up than they will praise it when it does something right. YMMV. -- regards andy |
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On 03/09/2013 07:07, Derek wrote:
On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:15:21 +0100, Spider wrote: Oh, I'm very disappointed to hear about Barnsdale's garden centre. I would love to visit it some day and I'd rather hoped the gc would be brilliant. Perhaps it will improve following customer feedback. I went with the intention of buying a plant (anything!) as a souvenir and came out without anything, and saw many others do the same. Barnsdale, was well worth the visit, a very full day, was one of the first in, and left as they were closing for the day. Thanks for adding that. It makes a visit sound very promising indeed. I'll just not have to plan any purchases. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
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